Hezbollah repels several infiltration attempts by Israeli soldiers

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, Hezbollah’s armed wing, reported several attempts by Israeli enemy forces to infiltrate southern Lebanon on Wednesday. They were countered by its fighters who inflicted losses on them, forcing them to retreat.

A source on the resistance field revealed for the Lebanese news channel al-Mayadeen that 25 operations were carried out this Wednesday ensuring that at least 80 Israeli soldiers were killed or injured and 5 Merkava tanks were destroyed or damaged .

Another source on the ground of the Islamic resistance assured al-Jazeera that all military gatherings on the border in the occupied territories on the border are in the crosshairs of the resistance.

“Not only the elite forces who infiltrated the outskirts of Lebanese villages were hit but also those who were in the barracks and orchards,” behind the lines, he said.

A statement from the resistance reports a first clash which took place at dawn, specifying that an ambush was prepared by the resistance against a group of elite soldiers who were preparing to infiltrate from Odayssé and Kfarkela, from Khallet al-Mahafer, as part of a first Israeli infiltration attempt.

A statement from the Lebanese army emphasizes that an Israeli enemy force crossed the blue line from Kherbet Yaroun and the Odayssé gate and advanced 400 meters before withdrawing after a short period.

Describing the event as “very difficult”, Israeli media spoke of “massive firepower launched by Hezbollah towards Israeli forces and a violent exchange of fire between resistance elements and Israeli forces at the border, coinciding with the Odeyssé ambush.” Israeli Army Radio said the shooting took place in a building the soldiers were trying to enter and the firing continued even as the wounded were evacuated.

In its version of events, Israeli enemy army radio reported during the day that “the 98th Division, which also includes the Egoz unit, carried out a maneuver during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. The next day, early in the morning, the Egoz unit launched attacks, and one of the forces entered a building in a village in southern Lebanon, where it confronted Hezbollah in a head-on battle. After this confrontation, a series of clashes and shootings were carried out against the forces from different directions, during which anti-armor missiles were fired at the forces by dozens of Hezbollah operatives. Around 30 Israeli fighters were injured to varying degrees during the battle, including 5 seriously injured in addition to the deaths.

A resistance statement released late in the afternoon indicated that during this clash at 5 a.m., its air defense unit fired a surface-to-air missile at an enemy helicopter in the airspace of Bit Hillel l forcing them to retreat. “Since then, no helicopter has appeared on the border with occupied Palestine,” insists the text.

According to Israeli media, “dozens of members of the elite forces of the occupying army were killed and injured.” Some reported 4 soldiers killed and 19 others injured. Others reported 35 killed and injured. The spokesperson for the occupying army acknowledged the death of a sergeant from the Egoz force. Subsequently, he admitted the death of 8 soldiers and 7 seriously injured.

In the middle of the day, the resistance evoked another ground clash with Israeli soldiers who attempted another infiltration from the east of Maroun al-Ras, ensuring losses in their ranks. Israeli media reported wounded or killed among Israeli soldiers in the two localities of Maroun al-Ras and Aïtaroune.

The Rambam hospitals in Haifa and Ziv in Safed, for their part, reported a “large number of victims” in the north and the landing of military helicopters transporting injured soldiers on the Lebanese border, again according to Israeli media.

In the afternoon, resistance communiqués reported several Israeli penetration attempts which were repulsed.

Finally, at least three Israeli Merkava tanks attempting to advance towards Maroun al-Ras were destroyed using guided shells.